A Mountainous Decision

The nice thing about Bryan Mountain being the focal point of this past weekend’s games is the ease with which headlines write themselves – this blog title included. I just wanted to get that out of the way, onto the meat of this thing.

I don’t think I ever imagined Bryan Mountain posting a 44 save shutout, or posting a .984 save percentage en route to defensive player of the week honors, but here we are, and that’s the reality.

When Jim Madigan yanked Chris Rawlings less than half-way through Friday’s game, he did so because Abe Lincoln wasn’t getting the job done. By that time, Rawlings had squandered a two goal lead and was in the midst of another underwhelming performance.

And then out of nowhere Bryan Moutain went tit-for-tat with an emerging star in Casey DeSmith and looked very much in control. In total he saved 62 of the 63 shots he faced in a weekend that can best be described as heroic.

Rawlings’ struggles represent more of the same. Going into the season I wondered just who would be between the pipes for NU. And after four performances, the answer’s no more clear…so stay tuned I guess.

Now as much as Bryan Mountain deserves praise for his efforts (I’d consider him the weekend’s first, second and third stars), he’s not alone in that deserving. Look no further than the man who called his name.

Credit where credit’s due – not every coach would have the temerity to make that move. Mountain does not bags of game experience so it’s a big shout to put him in a tie game with two points on the line. And what’s even more telling is the opponent. As nice as wins against BC & bu are, the competition is UNH, Providence, the like. These are the schools NU will try to finagle a home ice spot from. This was a huge moment and Madigan gambled – and nearly won.

So often last year Madigan refused to pull Rawlings even when it was painfully obvious it wasn’t his night/weekend/month. That inability to make a move surely cost the team a point – at the very least – and thus, a playoff spot. And that’s why this weekend was all the more refreshing.

It was an incredibly encouraging moment of growth to see Madigan pull the strings the way he did this weekend. One has to hope that it ignites the creative sparks and allows him to catch up on some the areas that have thus far alluded him. Or maybe I’m making too big of a deal over this one thing’s for sure, this is not the same Jim Madigan. I have to think he’ll ride the hot hand, but then again maybe he goes back to Rawlings. Regardless, if he guesses wrong you have to figure he’ll correct it.

Lesson Learned: You Best Come Correct

Losing 3-0 to BC at Conte is nothing to be ashamed of.

The fact of the matter is BC is capable of attaining that kind of result against any opponent in NCAA. And let’s not forget, regardless of the events of October 13th, BC is the defending champions of the universe and NU missed the Hockey East playoffs.

That doesn’t mean you shrug your shoulders and say “oh well.” Saturday was a harsh reminder of what kind of competition awaits Northeastern in Hockey East this season and how mistakes can cripple you.

And boy oh boy were there mistakes, lots of them. So many, in fact, that I’m inclined to believe Northeastern beat themselves.

Some of that is surely the inexperience many of the players on the team carried with them in their first road game. That facilitated a lot of indecision, and in turn, a lot of turnovers.

Whether it was holding onto the puck too long or an ill advised pass that found an Eagle stick in the NU zone, turnovers were far too prevalent for any team seeking victory. This is something that should be addressed before they go up to Durham.

Here’s some other things to work on:

– the power play

– limiting penalties (nice flop, Manno)

– breakouts

Unfortunately these are becoming ongoing trends for the season. It’d be nice if the coaching staff could nip them in the bud before they really start affecting the team.

Another item that should be addressed was the catching glove of Chris Rawlings. Now Rawlings wasn’t much of an issue generally speaking, but I can’t count how many times I saw pucks popping out of his glove. It didn’t cost him against BC, but it will in the future.

One more issue I had was with the play of the captains. The penalty kill, while not all Robbie Vrolyk’s responsibility, allowed two with a man advantage. Ludwig Karlsson was held pointless for the third straight game. And My Captain Vinny was given a 10 minute misconduct for arguing with refs. Now I admire Vinny’s fire, but it needs to come on the ice to have a real impact. These guys really need to step it up come UNH.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom though. Garrett Vermeersch was a threat all night, constantly a thorn in the BC defense and unlucky not to score. Cam Darcy, clearly motivated by the Boston atmosphere, was a buzz saw. And yet again, Josh Manson played another productive game, even if he was on the ice for the final two BC goals.

In the first three games, this team has had four great periods and five bad ones. We’ve got a real Jekyll and Hyde situation developing so let’s hope that aggressive, hungry version shows up to New Hampshire. It’s just too bad Stevie Morra won’t be there, he’s exactly the type of guy this team needs to be playing right now.

 

Three Stars:

1. Garrett Vermeersch

2. Cam Darcy

3. Josh Manson

You Better Recognize

Breaking news: Boston College hasn’t been very good at Matthews Arena as of late.

Maybe you were already aware of that, but if not, Northeastern is 5-2 against BC since ’08-’09, which is the era we’re going to use since that’s when I arrived at this school. Three of those five wins came when BC was number one in the nation.

And yet, despite the history, everyone was shocked that NU would win. A victory for the Huskies was by no means guaranteed, but why does everyone act like it was such a freak occurance? Yeah, I get that the overall matchup numbers heavily favor BC (8-1-1 in the previous 10), but you cannot ignore the venue as a factor.

Now that that is out of the way, let’s talk about the game. And what a game it was.

Discussing this game starts with Chris Rawlings. The man came to play and boy was he ever big. He looked shaky at times against a fairly mediocre Merrimack squad but he was phenomenal against Boston College. He stopped all but one shot (which came on a very well executed power play and was not his fault) and outshone pre-season media darling Parker Milner. BC forwards got golden opportunities to score but Rawlings denied nearly everything. If this Chris Rawlings shows up on a nightly basis, Hockey East should be very afraid.

But Rawlings didn’t do it alone. Josh Manson was excellent in his own right, as was Drew Ellement. Dax Lauwers also deserves commendation for his efforts keeping BC off the scoring sheet. After the Merrimack game, particularly the second period, some members of the media stated that BC would eat NU alive if the defense played like that. To their credit, NU’s defense didn’t look anything like they did against Merrimack. Call it rising to the occasion, call it learning from mistakes, whatever you want. They were surprisingly good.

But ultimately the biggest story coming out of the game was the impact each of Northeastern’s freshmen had. All three goals were scored by freshmen – Belonger, Roy and Saucerman. Darcy added a couple of assists on the first and third goals. It’s an added bonus when freshmen step up and contribute. It’s gravy when they do it against the defending national champions, though. I was particularly impressed with the play of Ryan Belonger, who showed nice poise netting a Milner rebound for the opening goal. He was also pretty physical for a guy of his size, which is great to see out of a bottom six forward. I’ll admit he wasn’t really on my radar before this week, but that has definitely changed.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s just remember one thing – this was BC’s opening game, and their play at times reflected that. That’s not to take anything away from the Huskies – this was a great win for Northeastern. Any time you can beat a #1 team it’s fantastic, no doubt about it. But what’s so sweet about the victory is that the ’12-’13 team is ahead of its predecessor. This team has done in two games what last year’s team needed seven games to accomplish. It’s a great sign to see this team getting it done where it matters, just as long as they can stay grounded because there’s still lots of work to be done…but it’s a great start.

On a side note – shout out to Pat Mullane for his cheap shot on Braden Pimm at the end of the game. You’re the captain of the Eagles, a team that is synonymous with the word class and you pull that stunt? What a goober. See you guys Saturday.

Three Stars:

1. Chris Rawlings

2. Ryan Belonger

3. Kevin Roy

Top of Hockey East

Well, well, well. Look who’s in first place.

Ok, so it’s only one game, but every point counts in this conference.

So here’s what I thought about Wednesday night’s game:

Josh Manson was the best player on the ice. Quite frankly, it wasn’t really much of a contest for me, either. He dominated in his own zone and showed great flashes of offenses. Manson was the most physical defenseman, bossing the Merrimack forwards around and a leader on the ice. The biggest question mark this season was the defense and if Manson steps up like this on a nightly basis, things might be so bad.

Chris Rawlings was Chris Rawlings. Now he saved 32 of 34 shots, which is very good and if you just looked at the stats, you might even say he was great. But that second goal he gave up was terrible. He let Merrimack back in the game unnecessarily. He can’t keep giving up softies like that.

The defense held up but only because Merrimack isn’t very good. Still, for the majority of the final two periods, they dominated possession in NU’s zone and threatened to erase a 3-0 deficit. There was a lot of trouble clearing the zone & starting the break out. Better teams will make the defense pay.

The defensive troubles epitomized NU’s play in the final 40. Sitting on a lead needs to stop. It happened way too much last season & cost them dearly. The captains need to rally the troops and end this trend. In fairness, each of the captains played very well, but they have an ulterior purpose. There were also some occasions where a timeout should’ve been called by Madigan. Game management is still an area to work on.

Vinny Saponari was NU’s best forward. He was very much involved in the offensive play and did a tremendous job shielding the puck to keep possession. He had two assists and probably would’ve also had a goal if Vermeersch passed it to a wide open Saponari instead of shooting. That play was classic Gary and it’s lucky that it didn’t end up mattering. He has to pass that there.

During one of NU’s power plays, a pass got broken up leading to a Merrimack shorthanded attempt. Colton Saucerman raced back to defend the breakaway and ended up tracking down the Mack forward. His penalty negated NU’s power play, but maintained the lead. Shorties were the bane of this team last season, and it’s good to see some improvement there. Kudos to Sauce for the hustle.

Kevin Roy looked good. Real good. No one had more pressure on him to perform, with the exception of Chris Rawlings, and he delivered. Like Saponari, he was constantly in the mix and his goal was a thing of beauty. He had a chance to add a second but his breakaway bid was denied. This kid is going to be fun to watch. More importantly, he’s fitting in nicely as Quailer’s replacement. This gives NU two very solid productive lines. That’s the Kevin Roy effect.

Wednesday was only game one of 34. You can’t get too caught up in the results after 60 minutes, partially because Merrimack is bad. But it’s hard to not be optimistic about this team’s chances.

 

Three Stars:

1. Josh Manson

2. Vinny Saponari

3. Kevin Roy

Welcome

The dudes over at Husky Hockey News asked me to write a message to the freshmen class so I did so.

Go check it out. But more importantly, check out Husky Hockey News because they’re good guys.

Schadenfreude

Almost exactly a year after Greg Cronin left Northeastern for the show, Toot Cahoon and UMass treated everyone to the 2012 version of “who’s coaching?”

More than three weeks into the process and still no one seems to know what’s going on. Coaching candidates emerge and fade almost daily, it seems. Having gone through this last year, I know how UMass fans feel.

Which is why I’m enjoying this.

OK – it certainly doesn’t look good for Hockey East when one of the programs in the conference can’t find a replacement coach. But from a NU standpoint, this is great.

Realistically, the Huskies were heading into this season looking to squeak into the playoffs, best case scenario. Vermont looks sure to finish dead last, especially now that their top recruit, Zemgus Girgensons, signed a pro deal with the Sabres. This UMass calamity may have sealed their tee time, though.

As smooth as things were for UMass last year, they only managed to equal the Huskies in points, making the playoffs on a tie-breaker. And as we’re all aware, the transition was not a simple process for NU. Even with the (many) losses this offseason, it looks like NU may have the upper-hand.

So at the risk of celebrating a menial accomplishment achieved by 80% of the conference, I think we can  pencil NU in for a few games in March.

After last season, I’ll take it. Thanks UMass.

 

P.S. if this coaching process doesn’t affect UMass this year, Northeastern’s season will look even worse if that’s possible.

The Pros & Cons of the 2012-2013 Schedule

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything of substance here. Given the way things were going, I guess no news is good news, though.

But alas, some new topic for conversation – the schedule (click here). Last night at the Friends of NU Hockey Annual Meeting, the tentative 2012-2013 was released so I’ll share my thoughts on the positives and negatives of it.

PROS:

– The waiting game is over: I’ve been trying to piece together NU’s schedule for a while now when other schools release theirs. No more guessing, no more speculating. Obviously things can change (it is tentative, after all) but this the season.

– Weak Out of Conference Schedule: If you want this team to make the playoffs, this is a definite bonus. NU ran through some big OOC opponents last year (ND, Minn, Mich) and it appeared going into January this team had turned it around. Then January happened and…not so much. Looking back at the season in review, many of the positives centered around the OOC games – how the team played, the strength of their opponents.

Now even if NU plays a more Merrimack-style schedule, they still play 27 Hockey East games and I seriously doubt it’ll crush any post season considerations (last year all 10 HE teams were in the top 30 on strength of schedule). Yes, Mack’s weak schedule likely cost them a bid from the NCAA tournament, but if NU goes from last season to that, we can all agree it would be a great step forward, yes?

Wins. In. Conference. That has to be the goal of this team this year and the schedule reflects that. Don’t sleep on Harvard, though, that’s one OOC game I am eagerly looking for.

– All Lowell and Merrimack Away Games on Saturdays: This is great for fan travel. Obviously, I’m speaking from a personal stand point of avoiding traffic, but there are additional opportunities presented. Given the close proximity of these schools, this is an opportunity for Athletics to get some sort of road trip together for students.

The proximity is not only beneficial to the feasibility (time, gas, cost, co-op schedules), but you can also guarantee the students they’ll still have their weekend night to do whatever because they’ll definitely be back on campus by 11 at the latest. Roadtrips are how you create connections and this would be great way to improve the fanbase’s interest in the team.

CONS:

– Lots of Holidays: When I took a close look at the schedule I wanted to slam my head against the wall. Here’s a list of holiday weekends that NU hockey will be competing with for fans…

• Oct. 7 v. St. Xavier – EXHIBITION (Columbus Day)
• Nov. 10-11 v. UAH (Veteran’s Day)
• Nov. 23 v. St. Lawrence (Thanksgiving’s Day)
• Jan. 19 v. BC (MLK Day)*
• Feb. 15-16 v. UVM (President’s Day)

* Jan. 18 @ bu (not a home game, but a game very accessible to NU fans)

The coaching staff stressed a desire for home games. Well, they got them. Unfortunately, six of them are on holiday weekends where the attendance will be less than desired – even if the team’s doing well.

If there was no way around it, at least it’s three OOC games that likely wouldn’t have packed the house anyway and a UVM series that, while still mean four crucial Hockey East points, is not the most appealing.

But my goodness. BC at home? For someone who works consistently at getting students in the door, this is awful. This is ALWAYS a top attended game, never mind a year where they’re coming off a quad. This hurts. As does the night before’s game at agganis, which is always fun when NU brings a good crowd.

– bu at the End of the Season (Again): Fourth straight year. Sick of this. I thought this was supposed to change? Guess not. Well, once again, the rat dogs to close out the season, hopefully with something on the line for both games this year.

But, along the lines of the last point, this series will likely be engulfed in Northeastern’s spring break. Another marquee series that will be seen by no one. It’s a shame, no way around it.

And while we’re talking breaks, Bentley on Jan. 5 will likely be dress like a seat night because that’s surely between semesters which means no one will be there. I have a hard time believing students’ rush back for the juggernaut of Bentley.

– Weak Out of Conference Schedule: Yeah I know I put this in the “pros” column, but that was from the team perspective. As far as fans go, it’s boring. I understand Michigan & Notre Dame aren’t coming for political reasoning (and I commend Madigan for his stance of not letting NU be used by big programs) but outside of Harvard, there’s nothing here that will excite a casual fan. And even with Harvard (scheduled during the between semester break, I’ll add), some of the allure is gone due to Beanpot familiarity. If a fan compares this year’s schedule to last year’s, the reaction would surely be disappointed.

– Jan. through the Beanpot: In about a month you’re looking at a run of Maine, bu, BC, Lowell, Lowell, UNH, bu. The Huskies are going to be put through the meat grinder of Hockey East for a month. This could be a time we look back on as to how it impacted the season, or it could be where the post season aspirations began spiraling downward. This could devolve into a huge losing streak (hey, Hockey East is tough) and then you’ve got to worry about recovering the team’s psyche for the remainder of the season. It’ll definitely be interesting.

– No Roadtrips: As I said before, road trips are fun. It’s like a mini vacation – for fans and the team. For both, it serves as a bonding experience and as far as the team is concerned, is often cited as a moment where the members were brought together. None of that this year until the beginning of March. By then, I would hope the team doesn’t need to be brought together, though.

– All UNH, UMass and Providence Away Games on Fridays: Traffic…the traffic…the traffic. Vanflip x1000.

bu Logic

The bu dog pound posted comments the players had about fanboys on their Facebook page. Some of them felt the need to highlight the final regular season game played at Matthews.

wade megan:

One game that stood out in my mind this year was the game at NU at the end of the year. It was obvious that you guys were in our corner all year long, and that was a good feeling. Fans can absolutely impact how we play, and we fed off the energy that you guys brought to buildings on multiple occasions.

Another Player (apparently embarrassed to be identified or something):

The second was at Northeastern. I couldn’t believe that we could actually be louder than their fans; it was like a home game for us.

A reminder: that game was played while Northeastern was on Spring Break. So congratulations, you were loud while the student body was elsewhere. Unfortunately that loudness wasn’t sustained because as we all know, Vinny Saponari scored the game winner and celebrated right in front of the fanboys with his Husky teammates. Tough break, guys. But hey, at least the bu players enjoyed the loss to speak so highly of it. Credit the fanboys for making a difference in a game which bu lost, I guess.

The Silver Lining

To no one’s surprise, Boston College won the 2012 NCAA Championship this past weekend. And to tell you the truth I’m not the slightest bit mad. First of all, Jerry York runs a hell of a program and if I can be objective for a moment, it’s a pleasure to watch. Second of all, as the saying goes “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Who is the enemy of Northeastern? bu, of course. Who is the (other) enemy of bu? Why that would be BC. When rooting for Northeastern is no longer possible because they’ve been eliminated, my allegiance shifts to whoever makes bu fanboys upset. And nothing gets bu fanboys more angry than watching BC win. So bravo, BC, you’ve done us proud.

A lot of NU fans weren’t particularly pleased watching Johnny Gaudreau get showered with praise after winning everything as a freshmen. Personally, I’ve gotten over it. However, new information has come to light that makes his story a whole lot better. According to College Hockey News, Gaudreau was considering bu when he was shopping his services around Hockey East after decommiting from Northeastern. In an effort to take him on, jack parker asked noted idiot charlie coyle if he was planning on staying to which coyle said he was. As a result, parker had no scholarship available and thus, no room for Gaudreau. And as we all know, coyle flunked out of the bu college of general studies (so not even the actual bu) and left mid-season for QMJHL. That’s gotta be the ultimate face palm for parker – and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

I have to say, the timing of this story was superb. I mean, talk about insult to injury for the fanboys. Just look at this:

Damn.

It might get even better though. Word on the street is bu recruit Sam Kurker (Reading, MA represent) is looking to play NCAA hockey this fall. Well there’s just one problem, bu anticipated his arrival for the 2013-2014 season and they do not have a scholarship for him currently. Obviously, it’s still early and things could change but what a kick in the nuts if this blew up in bu’s face. Here’s hoping…

One Week Later

On Sunday I tweeted that I was tired of writing about Boston College and I hope Northeastern would give me something to discuss. I guess I got what I asked for. Over the past few days there’s been no shortage of things to discuss – all of them Northeastern related (!) – so I’ll just hop right into it:

1. UConn is looking to become the 12th member of Hockey East:

I will be 100% honest here – I don’t know much about the state of UConn hockey in 2012. However, I can assume from their status as a mediocre to dreadful Atlantic Hockey club that climbing to the standard of excellence of a Hockey East member* would be a sizable effort. As far as the rink goes, the fact that people consider Lawler a vastly superior building leads me to believe it’s a dump (to be polite). A quick image search confirms my initial judgment and I’d like to suggest UConn moving to my high school’s rink, so the team’ll have somewhere nicer to play.

That being said, it’s a logical move to add UConn. From a logistical stand point, a 12th team means no team will be required to play out of conference because of odd numbers. I think we can all agree that’s a good thing. But is UConn the right team? Well, Storrs, Conn. is under two hours from Boston, which puts it just a bit further out than University of New Hampshire. Location wise – yes. This makes them more advantageous of a selection than RPI, who had been thrown out as a potential addition. Why not Holy Cross or Quinnipiac you say? Think of it this way – from a marketing stand point, which of those three would you prefer to work with? UConn is a reputable brand of higher education in this country, particularly in the realm of athletics, thanks to their basketball programs. There’s also the small fact that UConn is a state school and a member of the women’s Hockey East conference. It’s basically a no brainer.

What do I think of this? If UConn joined I would NOT be pleased. First of all, the state of Connecticut sucks. I hate driving through there on the way to New York. I can only imagine away games at UConn would be like a second UNH. Although, I will have graduated by the time they would join (if it does happen) so my chances of roadtrippin’ to Storrs is slim to none. And I most certainly would not be doing so to see what would likely be a basement dweller of a team (UConn, not Northeastern). But the most important issue at hand is the fact that Northeastern would no longer be the lone Huskies in conference. It’s bad enough having two dogs, but two husky dogs!? This can’t be.

note: the above paragraph is clearly my personal opinion whereas the one above that one contains rational, dare I say logical, points on UConn’s value to Hockey East

* bias alert

2. Anthony Bitetto is leaving Northeastern:

OK, is anyone really shocked by this? If you’re the least bit surprised by him signing with Nashville your mind is clearly elsewhere (though I won’t blame you for trying to block this year out). Though I harbor no ill will toward Bitetto’s early departure, I’ll definitely miss him. He first caught my eye last season, unfortunately, because he couldn’t keep the puck in the zone on the power play. While that’s still occasionally a problem, he’s vastly improved. If you ask me, the best part about Bitetto was that he played with a serious edge. Even though he was a legitimate talent, his ability to set the tone of a game was what won me over. Going after Wade Megan at the start of his last game is a perfect example of this and will be my lasting memory of him as a Husky.

On a humorous note…in what I have to believe was a mistake and not a Freudian slip, Bitetto referred to the Nashville Predators as an organization where “winning is excepted.” This isn’t the first time a Husky made a dubious grammatical mistake on Twitter, Vinny Saponari famously referred to Gaudreau as “trader” (someone with photoshop skills should really make a parody trader gaudreau’s logo), but this one is probably the most egregious. It also begs the question; if he was intent on going to a team where “winning is excepted” why leave? “Winning is Excepted” could be the new “Now is the Time.”

By the way: word on the street is that Chiasson signed with Dallas so that he could hide from Bitetto. So what does Bitetto do in response? He signs a pro contract of his own, of course. So that we’re clear, no one’s safe.

3. Jon Gillies decommits from Northeastern:

Man this one hurt. It’s like Gaudreau all over again, except for one particular difference – there’s no one to blame. For me, that actually makes this one worse because I know that it wasn’t anyone’s fault. It’s just an unfortunate turn of events, which merely adds to what has been a pretty dismal past three months. Yeah so Rawlings probably led the coaching staff to believe he was gone after this season but his decision to return for a season year isn’t exactly heartless, even if they might be individually motivated. Still, opting to play another year will likely vilify him unfairly in the eyes of Northeastern fans. The first soft goal he lets up will be met with rant upon rant of how he screwed the team over. In an ideal situation, Rawlings will spend the offseason working to improve his game, returning with serious motivation. But I hope that if he struggles like he did at times this year that Madigan doesn’t hesitate to explore the option of one Clay Witt in net.

Losing Gillies means having to forge a new path for the future. Northeastern fans had every reason to believe they were getting a stud in this kid and his dedication to the team (note the N on his USHL helmet) made him a fan favorite before ever taking the net at Matthews. Gillies represented hope, a bright future and a potential to erase the bad taste of the 2011-2012 season. Now what? Well, Rawlings this year and hopefully Madigan can work some of that recruiting magic and find a suitable tender for the ’13 (or at the latest ’14) season. But there’s also the little matter of Gillies’ next move. He may end up in QMJHL or he might go to another NCAA club. Unfortunately, due to being released from his NLI, he could very well end up at a Hockey East school. And if he does go that same route as Gaudreau, he could leave Husky fans with that sinking feeling of “what could’ve been” every time he comes out victorious.

Still don’t have a Beanpot by the way.